


Nightmares

by PorcelainLove



Series: The Adventures of Smoldyn Izunia [4]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, De-aged Ardyn, Family Dynamics, Gen, Gladio POV, M/M, Multi, References to Sexual Situations, Wholesome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-11
Updated: 2018-05-11
Packaged: 2019-05-05 06:55:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14612127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PorcelainLove/pseuds/PorcelainLove
Summary: It’s not his fault he has nightmares!” Noct said with sympathy.  “He’s not doing it on purpose."(In which the bros get locked out of their house, comfort an upset child, and try to sneak in a little romance.)





	Nightmares

**Author's Note:**

> Yup, another bb Ardyn fic. I can't help myself. They are insanely fun to write.
> 
> Also the title is kind of a placeholder. I can't think of anything better so please, please if you have any suggestions--! I'll credit you if I use your idea. :3

The door wouldn’t open.

Gladio wasn’t pleased.  He was carrying three cartons of milk, two tubs of ice cream, a giant bag of flour, and enough fruit and vegetables to feed an entire army.  Ignis, at his side, was holding nothing. Gladio didn’t see anything wrong with kicking the door in frustration.

“I told you to let me help.” Ignis said to Gladio, sensing the big man glowering to his left.  

“And I told you I got it.” Gladio countered as he fumbled around in his pocket to try and find the key without dropping anything.  He was so, so happy that Ignis couldn’t see him. Probably the first time in forever that he was glad Ignis was blind.

“Mmm.” Ignis replied unconvinced.  Gladio couldn’t blame him.

“Why are you still hanging out on the doorstep?” Noct’s voice piped up from behind.  He had let Gladio and Ignis out in the driveway and gone to park the car.

“Door’s locked and Gladio cannot find the key.” Ignis told him, rather unhelpfully.  

It wasn’t  _ Gladio’s _ fault, he thought these jeans were the ones with the key in them.  After all, he wasn’t planning on going shopping this late at night but when he’d gone shopping the other day he’d somehow picked up the wrong kind of bread. Gladio kind of blamed Ignis for that one too.  You can’t tell a guy to ‘pick up anything brown’ if you aren’t, in fact, going to accept  _ just anything _ .

Also what company is legally allowed to label its bread as ‘brown’ when the only thing making it so is food colouring?  Fucking conmen. He was never buying anything from  _ Caem Harvest _ ever again.

“Did you try ringing the doorbell?” Noctis asked as he walked up and pulled one of the cartons of milk out from Gladio’s armpit where it had been jammed in so tightly Gladio thought it may have been cutting off circulation.  “Prompto should be awake.”

On second thought, maybe the next time Ignis suggested two trips Gladio might actually listen.  But it was just the tone that Ignis used… Like Gladio was being ridiculously stubborn. Whatever.  He’d brought everything this far, there was no way in hells he was giving Iggy the satisfaction of knowing he was right and Gladio was wrong.

Gladio knew deep-down that he needed to be less hard headed but Ignis really had to stop needling.  That was it. It was both their faults for sure… maybe. But they’d kiss and make up come bedtime, they always did.  After all that had transpired between their group in the past ten or more years together Gladio had made a promise to himself to never go to bed angry.

“Sure, but Ardyn’ll be asleep.” Gladio reminded him and bringing his thoughts back to present day. “And after how long it took him to fall asleep, I don’t want to deal with that again.  Did you want to call?

“It’s not his fault he has nightmares!” Noct said with sympathy.  “He’s not doing it on purpose. And no, if Prom locked the door that probably means he’s busy. Besides, he still hasn’t read the message I sent earlier.” Noct waved his phone in Gladio’s face to prove his point.

“Even so, I’m still going to try my hardest not to wake him up.”  Gladio turned to look at Noct and blinked in surprise. Because in one hand Noct was holding some milk and in the other… his blade?  No war meant Gladio must have been getting rusty because he didn’t even noticed the telltale glimmer of the armiger being accessed. “Whatcha doin’ Noct?”

“Getting the spare key.”

“We have a spare key?” Gladio said incredulously as he turned to look at Ignis.  Ignis shrugged, and shook his head. Clearly this was new to the both of them.

There was a blink and a flash of light.   Gladio looked back around to stare at the empty spot where Noctis had once stood just in time to see the man fall from the sky and land on his feet.  Scratch everything Gladio had said before about Ardyn being cat-like. It obviously ran in the Caelum family. 

“Got it!” He announced, pleased with himself, as he brandished the silver key he’d retrieved from… somewhere above.

“I’m grateful and all but since you’re the only person who could  _ possibly _ find that key, how does putting it up there help anyone else?” Gladio stared at Noct with suspicion.  No one cared. He probably would have been more formidable without the condensation from the melting ice cream getting his shirt soggy.

Not to mention that it was nigh impossible to look angry (or be taken seriously) when the ice cream tubs were brilliant green and emblazoned with fluorescent pink chocobos.  Prompto had a real problem but Gladio didn’t have it in his heart to deny the man anything. 

“More to the point: you are aware that causes structural damage?” Ignis cut in.  Noctis scowled at him and chose to hold his tongue, turning to open the door instead.  Gladio and Ignis went in, followed closely by Noctis.

Gladio tried not to laugh when he heard a grouchy ‘ _ structural damage, my ass’  _ from a petulant King as Noct shut the door behind them.  Ruler of Insomnia or not, he was human like everyone else.  And Ignis, as much love was felt between the two, still treated Noctis a bit like his ward.

As Gladio went into the kitchen to put away the groceries (grabbing the milk from Noct with a pointed expression as he did so) he heard the others head into the living room and call out Prompto’s name. Gently, of course, so as not to have their voices echo through the house and potentially wake up their sleeping child.

There was no answer.

It was then that Gladio noticed, just as he finished putting the flour away, that a cell phone lay on the wooden table.  It was brightly lit and lights were flashing across the screen. Looked like Prompto had been playing a game on his phone when something pulled him away without warning.  The words  _ GAME OVER _ blazed across the screen in gleeful script.

Too bad, by the score tallied in the corner it looked like Prompto was headed for a new record.

Gladio picked up the phone and pressed switched it off.  He met Noct and Ignis in the hall, neither one of them knew where Prompto was either.  But, based on their prior conversation, Gladio suspected Ardyn was the cause of Prompto’s absence.

Three men trekked upstairs as quickly as possible.  They didn’t have to worry about their shoes making noise because Ignis had ground into everyone the importance of a clean household.  He made it a strict rule that there was to be no footwear past the front door. Annoying in winter but a damn good idea when the house heated up during the summer months.   The marble floors felt like a gift from Shiva herself when it was as humid and stiflingly hot.

The light in Ardyn’s room was on but no one was there.  Noctis went to check the bathroom just in case while Ignis lingered in the hallway.  Gladio noticed Ardyn’s pillow was slightly damp - the maroon pillowcase still bearing track marks from tears long gone. That wasn’t good.  Nor was the fact that Yoji’s fluffy head was sticking out from underneath the blanket. Something must have scared Ardyn real good if he’d abandoned his best friend.

“Guys? Over here.” Noct called as quietly as he was able.  Gladio grabbed Ignis’s hand and they followed Noct’s voice to the master bedroom.  The door was slightly ajar. That was uncommon. It was either fully closed (to keep Ardyn out) or wide open at all times.  Ajar meant someone was inside and distracted.

Pushing the door open fully, Gladio took everything in.

The lamp on the nightstand was on, turned to low, so Gladio could see as far as the foot of the bed. Darkness consumed everything else.  Before Noctis had… come back, Ignis, Prompto, and Gladio had been perfectly at ease sleeping without any light at all (other than the glowing numbers on the digital clock or the glare from their phones.

But Noctis, who had dealt with so much during the ten years he’d been gone, was another story.  Whether it was some underlying trauma that he hadn’t seen fit to mention to his friends or the time spent in everlasting night, Noctis could no longer relax without some form of light.  He called it a beacon. It kept him grounded, kept him from sliding back into a panicked, catatonic state.

Gladio just liked that he didn’t have to watch his step when he had to piss in the middle of the night.

Prompto was cross-legged, propped up against the headboard of the bed.  He was fast asleep. Cuddled against his chest was a little bundle of red and purple.  Ardyn’s hand was gripping onto the edge of Prompto’s sleeve with such intensity that it had turned a ghostly white.

Gladio heard whispering from behind him and only then realized that he’d marched right into the room and up to the bed.  Glancing back, he could see Noctis speaking into Ignis’s ear. He was likely describing what he saw. 

Ignis’s lips grew tight and his hand searched in desperation for Noct’s arm before he finally found flesh.  He grabbed it in a vice grip. 

None of the men present liked it when a child was upset.  Especially not when there was nothing they could do. And even with Noct’s explanation, there were things he left unsaid.  That, combined with Ignis’s semi-perpetual state of preparedness, meant his mind was probably moving a mile a minute trying to think of what he could do to help.

Ardyn’s doctor said it was a stage that he’d grow out of.  That didn’t make it any easier.

Gladio raised his hand and rubbed Prompto’s shoulder, hoping that the slight motion would wake him up.  Nothing. He tried mumbling the man’s name. No go.

It was only when Gladio leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to Prompto’s lips that the blond woke up.  Thankfully he didn’t startle Ardyn, just opened his eyes and looking right into Gladio’s own. Gladio could see the blue eyes focus and unfocus as Prompto tried to remember where he was.  In an attempt to help, Gladio stroked Ardyn’s hair and tried to gently pull him away from Prompto.

Ardyn’s arms tightened in reflex but with a little coaxing (and Prompto making soothing noises that sounded like a mother chocobo cooing to her young) Gladio was able to disentangle the boy and allow Prompto his freedom.  

As Prompto sleepily made his way towards Noctis, rubbing his eyes as he went, Gladio maneuvered Ardyn’s little body into something more comfortable and left him sleeping on a pillow.  It was black so… probably Noct’s? Gladio just grabbed whatever was close but some of his companions were rather picky.

Ardyn snuggled into the pillow with a deep sigh and breathed deep.  Yup, definitely Noct’s pillow. Even subconsciously Ardyn favoured Noctis.

Making sure that the blanket was tucked up all around the boy so he’d feel safe and secure, Gladio dimmed the light a fraction more before heading out into the hallway to join the others.  This time he closed the door. No one wanted Ardyn to hear them.

“What happened?” Was the first question on all of their minds.  Ignis was the one to pose it first.

“I dunno.  He stayed asleep for a long time but then something just startled him and he just screamed and screamed.  I ran up as fast as I could because, well, you should have heard him. He was terrified.” Prompto explained, a sorrowful expression on his face.  That explained his abandoned cell phone, then. And the door? Well, maybe he’d just done that out of force of habit. Noctis liked to leave the door unlocked for easy access (Gladio personally suspected Noct just forgot to lock it all the time and made up something to make himself appear less forgetful) but everyone else knew the danger it posed to them all.  

They were a family of kings and warriors but even in this time of peace there were doubtless many dissenters.

“Even when I got to him he wouldn’t stop crying and screaming.  It took me turning on all the lights and walking up and down the hallways to get up to actually open his eyes and realize what was happening.”  Prompto continued. “Once he calmed down I tried to put him back to bed but he wasn’t having it. And, since my back was killing me by this point, I figured if we both fell asleep in the same place it would be better.”

“I wish…” Ignis began.

“Me too.” Said Prompto.  Gladio and Noctis nodded along with him.  They were all on the same page. They all wished they could take away Ardyn’s troubles.

“Should we move him back to his bed now that’s he’s asleep?” Noct asked with a tone that suggested he hoped someone else should do the dirty work. “Five sleeping in one bed might be a tight fit.”

“Agreed.” Came Ignis’s smooth voice. “If Ardyn weren’t quite so  _ mobile _ while he slept it would be another matter.”

“You got that right.  The last time I tried sleeping with the kid he headbutted me in the nose so hard I saw stars.” Gladio winced as a phantom pain swept across his face.  Kids were (unfortunately) incredibly strong.

Ignis sighed. “If we’re talking about bedtime battle scars--”

“Yeah, you win. Hands down.  My nose is nothing compared to you getting body-slammed in the dick.”

Prompto and Noctis unconsciously covered their groins in solidarity.  Ignis had been in a lot of pain and once Ardyn was fully asleep, Noctis had wasted no time in moving him back into his own room.  Then, with the door locked, they each took a turn checking for damages.

They were very thorough.  Ignis took it like a champ and fell asleep as happy as Gladio had ever seen him.

Love was a powerful drug.

Suddenly there came a scrabbling sound from the other side of the door.  It was soon after followed by a pitiful whine.

Ardyn was awake.

He was, thankfully, still too short to reach the door handle unless he stood on his tiptoes and exhausted, tear-stained little Ardyn could definitely not manage that in his current state.  Children didn’t often have the ability to do anything than beg for love in whatever way possible when they were miserable and lonely.

“Daddy?” 

The group of men looked at each other in defeat.  There went any hope of having the bed to themselves that night.  It didn’t help that Ardyn called for his ‘daddy’ when he was only partially awake.  Depending on his feelings, who the name applied to changed at random.

When Ardyn wet his bed in the wee hours of the morning, the only ‘daddy’ he wanted was Ignis.  He shied away and cried whenever anyone else looked at him.

Ardyn with food poisoning had fallen asleep in Gladio’s arms, a bucket on the floor ready and waiting.  Everytime Noct tried to even pet his hair the little boy flailed and whimpered unhappily.

Prompto was the daddy necessary to placate an Ardyn who had bitten another boy in his playgroup when said other child stole Ardyn’s toy car out of his hands.

Noctis usually ended up taking care of anything else.  For someone with no siblings and a minimal understanding of the basic food groups necessary to avoid a full body shut-down, he was the quintessential ‘Ardyn-whisperer”.

“Who does he mean?” Noctis stage-whispered. 

“Why don’t we open the door and let Ardyn show us?” Ignis was ever the most logical of them all.

“Sure, sure.  Let me just--” Prompto pushed past Gladio and jiggled the door handle.  He opened the door slowly to allow for Ardyn to (hopefully) move aside and not get smacked in the face. “Hey buddy. Who you lookin’ for?”

Ardyn gazed up at them all with lidded eyes, his face a mess of old tears and snot.  Even the hair that framed his face was a bit crusty. He fell into Prompto’s arms like he never wanted to let go, his head cradled on Prompto’s strong shoulder.

“Use this.” Gladio saw Ignis pull a handkerchief out of his pocket and pass it over.  Gladio wet the top of it with his tongue and knelt down as close to Prompto’s back as possible before lightly running the fabric over the boy’s face.

Ardyn, whose eyes had been getting heavier with each passing second, fell to his knees and crawled out of Prompto’s arms… right into Gladio, who let out a grunt at the unexpected weight. 

“Oh dear.” Ignis didn’t need his eyes to know what had happened. In a flash that took them all by surprise Ardyn flung out an arm and locked it around Ignis’s leg.

“I think he wants everyone.” Noct said sagely, which came as no real revelation. “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up and then we can cuddle. Okay?”

“Okay.” Came the reply, slightly stronger now.  Ardyn was waking up. That wasn’t good. The more awake he was the longer it would take him to fall asleep again.

Noctis ducked around his friends and deftly plucked Ardyn from Gladio’s embrace. “We’re just going to pop by the bathroom, you guys get settled in.  It’s going to be a long night.” He said with gravitas before heading off.

Well shit. 

On the plus side Gladio fucking  _ loved _ cuddling while some other members of the household (cough _ Ignis _ cough) were less willing to be join in.  This would be an excuse to both relax a child in need and get some necessary G-rating loving in.

And if Ardyn was facing the other direction and Gladio had an opening you’re  _ damn sure _ he was going to touch whatever he could get his hands on.  Life with a kid meant a lot of missed opportunities (or too much exhaustion to even participate when they had the time) so a grope here or there could totally lead to some nookie in one of the guest bedrooms. 

No one suffered from premature  _ anything _ but if you only had five minutes then you worked with the time you were given.  Gladio was pleased to say that after many years of practice his gag reflex had mostly vanished.  Also that no one had gone more than three minutes when they were being deepthroated and were pressed for time.   _ And _ if things got a little dicey, a little ass play moved things along quite smoothly.

Gladio wasn’t picky - he loved everyone equally.  Well,  _ maybe _ Ignis stood a little higher in his regard but that was the double whammy of their relationship progressing from colleagues to friends to lovers as well as Gladio’s deeply ingrained protective instinct. Sure he had the same thing with Noct and, to a lesser extent, Prompto, but there was a significant part of him that got a little more light-headed when Ignis was in the picture.

Prompto pushed the door fully open and walked over to the dresser to get changed.  Ignis removed his glasses and began unbuttoning his shirt. Gladio usually slept in his boxers, or, if no children were present, nothing at all.  Instead of stripping down he went to the bed to fluff up the pillows and reorganize things a bit. He also upped the brightness on the light so Prompto could see what he was doing.

“Thanks!” 

“No prob.” 

Gladio gave the pillow that Ardyn had been clinging to a critical look. Yeah, it was pretty gross.  Gladio let out a long breath and pulled off the pillow case before going to find a replacement. There was no way he would willingly let someone - even a child - sleep in their own mess if it could be helped.  

Prompto tossed something Gladio’s way, he’d obviously been watching Gladio work.  Throwing an appreciative smile back, Gladio fixed up the bed and threw the used pillowcase in the laundry basket.  He obviously moved fast because Ignis was still in the process undressing when Gladio was done and so... Gladio felt the desire to help.  With a tenderness that always came out when dealing with Ignis, Gladio helped his friend step out of his pants and pulled off his socks.

He couldn’t help pressing a kiss to Ignis’s soft cock through his underwear as he stood back up.  He was only human! And even after a long day, the man still smelled sinfully good. If Gladio could bottle that musk, he would.  He pretended not to notice Ignis’s twitch of interest, it wouldn’t do them any good to get horny  _ now _ but teasing wasn’t something Gladio could stop without a lot of effort.

“Aw, come  _ on _ G.  Now?” Prompto cried from where he was still standing beside the dresser.  He had a loose tank top on (emblazoned with a chocobo, of course - like Gladio said, Prompto had a problem) but he was definitely sporting a bit of wood.  Gladio blew him a kiss and Prompto grumbled and turned away, attempting to tuck everything away and spare himself any further embarrassment.

Knowing his time was limited, Gladio helped Ignis get into his nightclothes (as Ignis called them) and Prompto finished by guiding Ignis into bed with him.  Gladio waited by the door in case of an emergency. He didn’t know what kind of problems there could be but he wanted to be prepared. Soon after footsteps were heard and Noctis came back with Ardyn settled contently in his arms.  Ardyn was holding a cup of juice.

Gladio didn’t say anything, just gave Noctis a knowing look.  The man shrugged as if to say  _ I know, I know, but if it calms him down… _ and yeah, that was true.  Brushing your teeth was damn important but going to bed without was acceptable once in a blue moon.  They’d just brush extra hard in the morning.

After placing the empty cup on the side table, Ardyn allowed himself to be tucked in between Prompto and Ignis.  Gladio fell in right behind Ignis and took over his role as the big spoon. He was pleasantly surprised to find Ignis wiggling back until Gladio’s dick was being sandwiched by his ass cheeks.  The tease.

“Goodnight Gladiolus.  Goodnight Ardyn.” Ignis pressed a kiss to Ardyn’s temple and Gladio watched as Ardyn’s eyes closed in happiness.

On the boy’s other side, Prompto and Noctis had settled in comfortably.  Prompto’s eyes were already closed but he mumbled his  _ goodnights _ anyway.

“Gladio, could you get the light?” Noctis asked quietly as he carded his fingertips through Ardyn’s hair.  He was almost asleep too. It was amazing how quickly everyone was passing out considering how wide awake they’d been until recently.  Sleep was indeed contagious.

Gladio let go of Ignis long enough to flick the light dial to as low as it would go.  Then he grabbed Ignis around the waist and reclaimed his rightful spot at Ignis’s back.

Within minutes, the room was filled with peaceful breathing and toddler snores.

No nightmares returned that night, not with the King and his guard to keep them at bay.

 

 

xxx

 

 

Gladio felt the light of the morning hit his face.  He didn’t know what time it was but with bleary eyes he fumbled behind himself for where he’d tossed his phone the night before.  Sometime during the night Ignis had left him and Ardyn was cuddling into him instead. Gladio breathed deep. There was nothing quite like the smell of a child.  

Ardyn smelled like hope and innocence and love and, okay, a bit like sour sweat but that’s what morning baths were for.

Finding his phone, Gladio switched it on to see that it was only 7:00 in the morning.  Usually he’d be contemplating getting up in the next half hour or so to go for a jog but he was so comfortable right now he decided to forgo the exercise for another day.

Then he noticed the small digital envelope in the corner of his status bar: he had a message.  It was from his sister.

_ Hey Gladdy! Ignis was supposed to meet me for our weekly walk around the park but he didn’t answer his phone so I let myself in.  Also, did you know your door was unlocked? Anyway, found you all but figured I better not disturb SO just tell Iggy that I’m expecting him tomorrow instead.   _

_ P.S. Ardyn is the cutest EVER and you drool when you sleep. So gross. Love you! _

Gladio wanted to roll his eyes but he couldn’t find the energy.  Instead he was drawn to a picture that Iris had included. Looked like she’s taken a snapshot of them all just for the fun of it.  Gladio gazed with deep affection as his eyes rolled over the frozen moment in time that Iris had gifted.

And she was right. Ardyn was the cutest fucking one of the lot.

Gladio was about to fall back asleep when he noticed a subtle motion on the other side of the bed.  Prompto was very slyly humping back against Noctis. It was clear he wasn’t totally aware of what he was doing but Gladio had no doubt that he’d wake up soon nonetheless.  Ignis and Noctis had Prompto sandwiched between them, if one of them woke up they all would.

So Gladio did the only thing he could.  He pulled the still snuggling Ardyn into his chest and heaved himself out of bed.  Ardyn’s bed was large enough for two, they’d rest there until Ardyn woke up in due time.

The others deserved some time to themselves and Gladio was willing to help in any way he could.  They’d do the same for him.

And Gladio, well, he was going to ply Ardyn with as much love as possible before the kid grew out of wanting hugs and kisses.

After all, the most important thing in the world to Gladio Amicitia was family.

**Author's Note:**

> The bread thing, although kind of a throwaway line, actually happened to me when I was in India. Such a sneaky way to sell things, omg.
> 
> If anyone has requests for more bb Ardyn fics, holla! I'm always looking to write new things and entertain as many people as possible. 
> 
> xoxo


End file.
